Face to Face
Mari was still hidden inside the trunk. She slightly raised the lid to have a better view, peering once again through the holes left by the attackers' weaponry; three armed people were there, clad in their strange dark purple armor with padded plates, prowling unwittingly around her. The actress saw these had patches stamped on their shoulder plates, one of them depicting a hammer hitting a serpent, and the other a winged frog-mouth helmet. Her attention focus was rapidly shifted as a fourth person arrived wearing the exact same gear and carrying a badly injured middle-age man, throwing him on the ground, the latter whimpering as he tried to drag himself on piteously.
A feminine voice emerged from this recently-arrived attacker:
- No matter how much we ask Sergeant, no one here seems aware of the
A masculine voice emerged from the leftmost one, the so-called Sergeant:
- They must be all under the objective's effects, and so we cannot lower our guard.
A second, rasping masculine voice intervened, the one just besides the one who spoke first:
- Why waste your time with him, then? If the others didn't, this one won't talk either.
Mari would then see firsthand a sample of the horror.
The last to speak approached the captive and stomped over, immediately hitting on the head and making the poor soul stop moving, to which she looked away trembling and began to cry covering her mouth's initial scream, her subsequent whimpers, whilst her eyes were tightly closed. Her skin sweated profusely as a bodily manifestation of the terror making her blood run cold, triggering a nauseating vertigo; as if nothing had happened, the four started to leave as promptly as they came, the killer stretching his arms as if this was all some kind of boring, routinal job for him. At that sight, Mari's arm hairs stood up just as she began to imagine such possibility, while the four continued with their weapons steady, totally focused as if, after what clearly transpired back on set, these were hunting the biggest game of all on some dangerous, unexplored jungle.
She continued looking, and the glow of the irregular halo above her caught her attention as it now was of a vermillion color, which she saw clearly, but soon the air trembled again and the tone was replaced back abruptly by an electric blue. The halo emcompassed the entire surrounding area, forming an oscillating perimeter line over the waves, leagues beyond the pier's threshold.
The actress did not count the minutes, nor the additional live fire, but soon the attackers reappeared, dragging with them more injured people, six young men and women dressed in their own police-like gear, bulletproof chestpiece and all, none of whom she could recognize, like at all. These were placed on their knees in a line, hands to the head; whilst all of them started being questioned about the "aberrant" using a terminology she didn't understand, Mari fixated on the symbols over the new strangers' vests, a golden-lined, coiled chinese dragon looking forwards. The captives, confused by the inquiries, never gave an answer, and thus the sergeant lined his men behind them, ordering with a hand signal to end them all; they did with cold-blooded mechanicity.
Mari could bear it no more, and trying to look away once more, made the worst mistake of her life; her dizzy head couldn't hold up, and after losing balance she involuntarily leaned forward, causing her tapping against the lid of the trunk, emitting a sharp noise which alerted the attackers. She retreated inside the trunk and began frantically praying in her mind to the heavens that those murderous beasts had not heard her, telling herself this was a nightmare, a very bad dream for felling asleep at her workplace. Mari tried to find the phone she'd dropped sometime ago to know if the help she asked for was near yet, her heart beating out of his chest, unable to distinguish any other sound than that of her blood pulsing in the veins under his temples, unable to calm her breathing no matter how hard she tried.
What followed were the hurried footsteps of the attackers over the gravel. All too soon, a first shot was heard nearby, silence, and then a second shot tore the thin air, followed by the third, silence, then the fourth arrived, so close that the actress felt as if it had gone to her chest. She screamed again, but this time she didn't cover her mouth in time.
Not even two seconds passed, and the next thing she heard were voices whispering near her, the footsteps quickly converging to the van's door, which began to be kicked hard in an effort to remove the furniture that was blocking it, taking much less time than she expected until it ceded. She heard the mirror burst into pieces and the wood crack, followed by the hinges of the door itself being torn from the frame, the fall of something heavy breaking into pieces outside. The footsteps got inside inside the dressing room, more things she heard being thrown around as garbage, smashed to pieces on the ground. There was silence again, but the actress's hope vanished when the closet door was pushed back, slamming, creaking from so much force; her clothes were pulled and trown around until, finally, the lid of the trunk was opened and broken, letting in the light.
- Is that her? – a new female voice asked.
- But look what we have here! Come with me, do not resist...!
A hand took her from below the arm, making her struggle out of her body's fear of what would happen if it didn't; Mari was thrown violently onto the carpet in the middle of the dressing room, coughing from the impact of her back so abruptly hitting the red-carpeted floor. She didn't have time to think about anything before another attacker stepped a boot on her chest, pointing a weapon between her eyes, a cross between a submachine gun and a NERF water rifle. The attacker had the finger on the trigger, but the hit never came, rather hesitating and taking out from the armor's belt a strange beeping item with a handle, a wide screen and two stocky antennae.
- Are you sure this is the objective? The scanner detects no psychobend emissions from her.
- It has to be - the sergeant stressed - The residue on the photo guided us here.
Recovering some breath, Mari dared to question his captors with a wavering voice, crying in fear:
- Who are you? What do you want? Why you're doing this?
The one who dragged her out appeared from behind her, laughing maliciously:
- Who? What? Why? – he mocked – Come on, stop your act, we know what you really are…
- What…what are you talking about…? I swear, I don't know what's going on...
- Oh, I think you do. Your mental illusions are not going to fool me, you dirty aberrant.
- Ulfr, I think this isn't actually...
- Shut up Isolde and pick her up. Do it now.
The sergeant crossed his arms as he rested against the vehicle's inner wall, watching as the woman removed the boot from Mari's body. Isolde lifted the actress by the shirt before pushing her back against the chest of her partner, who quickly took a white rope and tied her to a chair. The actress was scared and struggled to escape, to which Isolde raised her weapon with one hand and took a plastic tape from her pocket with another; she continued moaning, scared and desperate while the woman tied her ankles:
- Please let me go I beg you, don't hurt me.
- Quiet!
It was the so-named Ulfr who shouted, his eyes flaming with hatred, just before half of Mari's face heated and her ear rang, leaving the actress with blurred vision and her brain spinning in her head. The attacker grunted, taking a club, going in front of her and raising it like a baseball bat, ready to strike; he spoke with bloodlust while poking her forehead with a finger:
- You don't make demands on us, you hear? You don't ask the questions, we do.
With a nod, the sergeant made him stand aside, taking a piece of folded paper from a pocket. This he unfolded and the actress looked at the blank paper, dotted with dark spots here and there, with a note written on it that read:
"This is the sister I know".
He took two steps closer, turning the paper over, showing the other side, an image that left her paralyzed; it was a photograph of herself. She had her hair slightly longer, and was resting her elbows, fingers intertwined, wearing a long black coat over what looked like an office uniform consisting of a white blouse and black pants. It seemed the photograph was taken on the terrace of a skyscraper, black night sky, the only lights being those of the city behind her:
- Is this not you? – he asked.
- I... - Mari said, confused - I have never taken that photo. I don't know where it came from.
- You cannot lie to us, we are immune to the control inside our armor - he responded.
- You sent it back to us when Wood found you - Ulfr added angrily.
- Save us time already - the other woman scoffed - We've been tracking you for months.
- Me? – replied the actress, shaking her head, scared – Control? I don't...understand, you...
The one with the club aproached again, and began to hit indiscriminately, the sergeant just watching; again, he seemed more interested in observing, as if he were waiting for something to happen, even if the actress, amidst screams and pitiful moans, was powerless to fight back. This ordeal she had never suffered before in her life; blows just fell one after another, one after another, without stopping, accelerating, becoming more intense, causing her entire being to collapse:
- No...no more, no more please... - she pleaded, weeping.
- Then get us out of this illusion of yours. Do it!
- Stop, stop...!
- Wrong!
Cracks were heard, screams became louder, the hope for salvation dimmed:
- Tell me! Aren't you the one in the photo?! – Ulfr barked.
The others began to feel uncomfortable with the whole situation, just realizing something was off:
- Sir, this won't get anywhere, stop this already - pleaded the second woman.
- Very well, soldier Hilga - he responded - let it down, corporal, it's been enough.
He stopped at the order, grunting heavily, backing away:
- What do we do now, then? - asked Isolde.
- Hmph... - he snorted - It seems we have two options.
- Which ones, Sigurd? - she replied
- Either we fell in the illusion as well, unlikely - he exposed - or there is no illusion at all.
Mari was shaking, nerve-wrecked, lips split, one eyes closed due to a big, swollen bruise. The actress was breathing as if the entire weight of the world was on her shoulders, her muscles softened, so sore that they did not respond, her sides causing her a sharp and intense pain.
- This is clearly her doing! - shouted Ulfr - We must finish it, it's a risk to let her loose!
- Enough of your nonsense, I said it's enough.
- But...!
- You were clearly wrong, and we already lost a lot of time.
- Still, there's a fact we cannot ignore... - said Isolde.
- Her resemblance to the one in the photo - Hilga added - They're both identical.
- We should've expected this - Sigurd said - A
- That doesn't explain why the scanner guided us to her - Isolde finished.
- Wait. You're telling me our living portal made a mistake? Damned idiot! – Ulfr grumbled.
- Huh... - the sergeant sighed - Wood would've been more precise.
- We still have the problem.
- Yes, we have. If her psi resonance matched that of the image, there must be a connection.
- Our mission was to find the aberrant; If she really isn't... – Hilga intervened.
- Untie her at once, corporal, we're leaving. Let the Institute find the truth about this.
The aforementioned obeyed without question, and began to remove the rope , throwing it away. The actress was still half-disoriented, but her standing up made her blood circulate, therefore oxygenating the brain and allowing a comeback of her senses. All started leaving the van at a steady pace, the sergeant and then other two flanking him while the corporal dragged Mari behind:
- Please...don't hurt me anymore...no... - she whimpered -...if you want money, I...I have a lot of money...ask me for whatever you want, but please, I want to live...
She then collapsed in crying, lowering her head:
- Shut up, witch…! You could fool others with your powers, but not me - Ulfr replied.
- Stop it, we already agreed this isn't the real one - Sigurd said to him.
Mari intervened, still confused by all of this:
- What powers? I am just a person I swear...you're not making any sense...
- We know who you are; Wood identified you before you killed him.
- That we couldn't confirm, sir - Hilga replied.
- I feel we'll soon make her spill her beans. Until then, just enjoy the ride, Kim Raon.
The actress didn't understand anything; her half-closed eyes expressed tremendous surprise and anguish upon hearing that name, feeling more than ever the immense anger and rejection that such character caused her, internally cursing the day she decided to take the role as the only way to further her career. She cursed having to meet him, the person whom she loved the most outside her family, while filming such a horrible movie; she cursed not being able to develop herself the way she wanted, having to be there filming such crap again. In her mind, Kim Raon was becoming the culprit of the current abattoir, of her current torment, and for those reasons she bitterly hated her, everything that she was, and all she represented in her life.
- Kim…Ra-on…? Is that why you did this to me? Damn lunatics...!
- Ah, you're finally going to admit it - Ulfr said - very good, this will be easier than I thought.
The actress was practically being dragged into the set, but responded by shouting, regaining some strength to barely struggle:
- I'm not Raon! She's not real! She only exists in movies! I'm Kang Ma-ri, Mari...!
This statement intrigued the group of attackers all at once, being Hilga the first to interject:
- A movie character? No, she's real, we followed her psychic trace, we showed her to you.
- That's absurd! You're all insane! Let go…! Let. Me. Go…!
Entering through the main room and approaching the hallway, Mari froze, and her heart almost stopped; she lost whatever willpower she had left, remaining crestfallen as she looked at what remained scattered everywhere, drowned in crimson, pierced savagely by heavy fire.
- It can't be... - she whispered – this...can't...be happening...
The actress was horrified, feeling madness waiting to pounce all over her at any moment while smiling, shellshocked, a last attempt not to cry anymore, not to faint and lose grip on reality.
Ulfr turned around and hit her on the forehead with the butt of his gun. He took a kind of gray fabric from his belt, and when spread out it revealed a bag, which he promptly put over her head. She felt out of breath and started screaming inside it, shaking, but her beater didn't care, saying:
- What? I'm tired of her.
- Stop hindering us - Isolde complained - let's get out of here before...
Suddenly the mirage in the air became cloudy again, there was a brief hum, and the entire team noticed with surprise that the demolished wall behind them was not only standing again but was now enameled and painted with a huge double numeral in yellow flanked by a double line of the same color:
- For fuck's sake, did you just look at that…
The entire team looked around and immediately became alert with weapons ready when they realized that the warehouse they were inside now was no more stained by the disaster they left, which vanished from view as if by magic, but by rows and rows of shelves with sliding glass doors, full of vitreous flasks on the inside:
- The aberrant, it's trying to escape! – Ulfr shouted, crazed - Shoot!
- No, wait! – Sigurd shouted too late.
The three fired all around them with total abandonment due to that sudden transition of space, destroying everything, causing glass and metal to explode in a spectacle of sparks and crystals, from which Mari got covered as she got thrown to the floor. She kept her hands on her head until the bursts ceased, realizing immediately afterwards the entire room went into darkness; footsteps from her captors could be heard. They made a ring formation around her to prevent her escape:
- Sir, my night vision doesn't work. I don't know what's happening... - Isolde said.
- Mine neither – Hilga added.
- Damn - Sigurd cursed - Switch to infrared.
- I just put it in, it doesn't work either – said Ulfr.
- Ultraviolet doesn't work either - Isolde added again - What do we do?
- You're an idiot, corporal. What the hell has been happening to you lately? I told you not to shoot.
- It was not my fault; the witch, she…
- Enough of that garbage. When we return…
A scream surprised everyone almost within earshot:
- Hilga! Hilga, respond! – Isolde exclaimed.
The next moment, the lights returned, and she had disappeared; The only thing left in the place where she stood was a red trail. The three remaining attackers looked everywhere, but found no trace of her partner:
- Keep your ground. Do not shoot without visual confirmation.
The lights went out again, and they heard noises above them, between the beams of the metal roof; as the light got back on, they remained static. It was at this moment that a red drop fell on Isolde's visor, making her look up with bated breath, swearing when she saw Hilga hung by a steel wire. In a couple more seconds, her gun also fell to the concrete from another place, broken into pieces.
- We must get out now!
- Stay still - Sigurd ordered - Keep our package secured.
They kept the perimeter closed around Mari. Then, the voice of a young woman was heard:
- You trespassed the perimeter of a restricted area. Any such unauthorized access will be dealt with lethal force.
- And you interrupted a Retrieval Procedure in progress; now show up and surrender. – Sigurd said.
- Irrelevant. Destroying Dragon Division assets is punishable by death. And I will enforce that.
The actress heard that name before. Dragon Division? Another burden added to her ordeal. Wasn't it a fictitious organization invented precisely for the film she was recording until today? Struggling not to close her eyes inside the bag, she tried to move, but every fiber and bone hurt, and as soon as she moved a few millimeters, she fell again, without even being able to get on her knees. She was again a passive actor in her own story, as she heard what followed; three bursts, then there was darkness, then light filtering through the bag, two bursts, and the cycle repeated around her, to finally get to a single burst, ending in silence for several seconds that seemed like suffocating hours.
- Help! Please! Someone! Help me...! - she pleaded pitifully.
That silence was immediately interrupted when she heard light footsteps near her; her body trembled instinctively, and shrugged in fear, whimpering like a helpless puppy, but in what seemed like an instant, the bag on her head was removed.
- No...it can't be. How...? – said the new voice.
Mari's pupils contracted forcefully as they were dazzled by the spotlights on the ceiling, which prevented her from focusing well on her surroundings, but as she felt her restraints being removed, she blinked several times until her eyes adjusted to the lighting once more. She got to sit on her legs and turned to the place the voice came from; it was a young, stacked woman with honey-colored eyes and short brown hair wearing a shirt, oatmeal-colored jeans and boots, her face was bloodstained, as well as her hands, which dripped the vital liquid very slowly. The actress became alarmed and backed away, falling on her back due to the cramping pain in her legs, to which the woman stood up and got next to her, helping her to sit back; she looked at her with confusion:
- Di...director, is that you?
Suddenly the young woman's balance faltered and her grip lightened; They both looked straight into each other's eyes, and the stranger was looking at Mari as if she, somehow, had known her since forever.
- What...how did you get…here?
The former put a hand on her own belly, and the actress noticed some open, spurting perforation wounds on the side of her abdomen and ribs. The next moment, she saw her fall to her knees, losing strength in her legs:
Don't worry ma'am...soon they will come...to get...you out...
The actress didn't understand who she was referring to, or even who he was talking to; seeing the blood the stranger was losing, she suspected that it was a deluded mumbling, the result of the wounds that she carried on her, much worse than her own injured situation right now. Those four came to her mind, and she quickly stood, pained, looking around the set to see what had become of them; she gasped at seeing one hanging on the ceiling, a second lying motionless, thrown on a railing up front, the one who hurt her impaled from top to bottom by a steel rod, and the fourth thrown over a broken shelf. That saturated her, as so much she had gone through today, but, deep inside her soul, she felt great satisfaction at seeing those monsters dead; it was then that the memories came back like an overwhelming wave, remembering all of her colleagues.
The actress looked around trying to find them, but, to his greatest confusion, there was a problem; no trace of any such event was there, but only the four attackers were where she'd just seen them, and that wall. The wall that shouldn't be there, and on top of it now the room was full of smashed shelves, trails of liquid everywhere; she felt something fall between her legs, and looking below her, she was flattered to see the young woman unconscious. She got on to her knees, picking the stranger up and resting her head on top of her tights. Mari had no idea what to do amidst the shattered hulks and broken glass; time passed, no one showed up, her consciousness came and went, she felt lost, she couldn't take it anymore, she had to get out of there as soon as possible, find normality to cling to before completely losing her sanity.
- Kim...Ra-on…
Mari went pale and stiff when she heard a male voice call her by that name again; she looked up, and the so-called sergeant Sigurd began to lift his torso with some difficulty:
- You set us...a trap...damn...crone...I'll take you out...!
Without the actress being able to see his movement, the sergeant grabbed the railing with his hands, and after pushing himself with his legs, he sprung directly towards her, as if he was flying with ropes and harness in an acrobatic fight scene. And it was there, as soon as he least expected it, that one of the metal shelves flew from the left in mid-air, intercepting him a few meters from Mari's face. But the most bizarre thing was seeing how the hulk did not fall to the ground due to gravity, after crushing its attacker against the column on the right; this one remained hovering and pressing sideways against the column, making him crunch as a potato chip and roar in agony. The actress's brain suspended her disbelief when she heard metallic squeaks and electrical sparks coming from his body, as if someone was breaking steel beams and cables with bare hands.
She was not prepared for this type of situation, not even participating in movies with magic and absurd superpowers in their plot, and nothing prepared her for what she would see next. A new woman appeared, dressed in tactical armor, walking confidently down the hallway and discarding her helmet; Mari was totally out of her mind when she saw who it was when the former, after standing in the middle of the place, turned to look at her with those small eyes she recognized. Looking at the actress in turn, she could not contain her astonishment, as if not expecting her specifically to be there, right up front; overcome by a tremendous sense of urgency, the woman ran towards where she was.
In an instant, without the actress being able to realize when, she already had her one meter away, caressing her face with one hand anxiously, seeing also the wounded woman as if she knew her. Now that she could look at her face in all detail, the actress's brain was completely overwhelmed, feeling as if it were to split in half inside her skull; everything suddenly became hazy, her muscles became heavy, and her nerves dulled, unable to bear the stress of her situation any longer.
Before losing herself in darkness, in the embrace of nothingness, she managed to murmur:
- Hee… Hee-hong…?
In the distance her ears and those of the strange apparition heard a single gunshot, just before completely losing the notion of reality and leaving her mind navigating in unknown, endless gulfs.